Witness describes interstate smashups

Published: Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, June 18, 2014 at 11:40 p.m.

A Henderson County man, caught in the middle of what he calls a "real-life version" of the smash-and-drive, high-speed video game Grand Theft Auto, says he has chosen not to press charges against the driver who terrorized motorists on Interstate 40 and Interstate 26 Monday night.

Chris Rivers had just merged onto I-40 after an excursion on the Blue Ridge Parkway Monday evening when he noticed the expressway traffic was moving rather slowly.

Up ahead, he saw a white Ford Taurus traveling about 15-20 mph, he said. It was swerving back and forth and its horn was blaring. The driver was "blocking traffic from getting by," he said.

The driver of the white Taurus was later identified as Tiffany Williams Hill, a 27-year-old wife and mother of two from Henderson County.

Rivers called 911. One vehicle slipped past the Taurus, and then Rivers made a break for it.

"I finally got past her," Rivers said. "She just had this blank stare on her face."

Rivers said he went about a quarter of a mile and pulled off on the right side of the interstate to give dispatchers an explanation of what was going on. Seconds later, he looked in his rearview mirror and noticed the Taurus had picked up speed, straightened out and was racing straight for him.

"I saw her speed up and she's coming straight towards me. She's traveling about 50-60 mph or who knows what... I'm thinking if she hits me, she's going to destroy me," Rivers said. "I'm sitting there and all of a sudden she just bounces off the side of my car."

He said Hill lost a side mirror and damaged the side of her car on the impact, but it didn't stop her. "She just hit the car, bounced off and kept going," he said. "From there I just started chasing her, and I was on with dispatch the whole time."

Rivers followed Hill from I-40 to I-26 East, toward Hendersonville, failing to catch her as the speedometer in his car danced past 80 mph. On I-26, a dangerous game of bumper cars ensued.

"She went out of her way to hit everybody that she came into contact with," Rivers said, adding that cars were rear-ended, T-boned, side-swiped, hit head-on and pinned in moves that reminded him of PIT maneuvers he'd seen in Grand Theft Auto.

A speeds that eclipsed 80 mph, Rivers said he saw Hill ram into vehicles — some of them twice — spin out a few times and keep going. When Hill hit a van and slammed into a guardrail, Rivers said he saw a chance to stop her.

"I was going to come up and pin her in so she wouldn't move any more," he said, but dispatchers urged Rivers not to put himself in harm's way, and Rivers was driving a rented car. "I figured she would ram the front end of the car and I didn't want there to be any more damage to it."

He stopped and watched Hill reverse and take off again, he said, ramming a few more vehicles and spinning out a few more times before she crashed into a guardrail near the Arden exit, exit 40, in a final collision that immobilized her vehicle.

Over a course of about 15-16 miles, Rivers estimated Hill hit more than 10 vehicles and said that as of Wednesday, eight drivers had reported damages.

Rivers said troopers were forced to smash the window in to extricate Hill from the vehicle.

"She was telling the troopers she couldn't remember doing anything," he said.

Officers advised Rivers that he could file charges against Hill for assault with a deadly weapon, but he has decided against it.

"I hope she gets the help she needs," he said. "The decision has weighed on my heart to have mercy on her."

Looking back, Rivers said the what-ifs have made him more cautious on the road and more grateful than ever to be alive.

"After everything was said and done, I started thinking about it," he said. "It could have turned out to be quite disastrous. She could've killed me."

If Hill's high-speed collision course for his stopped car had not been slightly altered, Rivers said, he may not have survived to tell the story.

"People drive crazy and they think they're invincible. You don't realize that at any moment in time, something could happen and that's it," he said. "I try to live each day to its fullest and be grateful for it because you don't know. Tomorrow is never promised."

Hill was charged with driving while impaired, failing to maintain lane control, hit and run/failure to stop for property damage and reckless driving to endanger. According to the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office website, Hill is still being held in the Buncombe County Detention Center in lieu of $15,000 secured bond.

<p>A Henderson County man, caught in the middle of what he calls a "real-life version" of the smash-and-drive, high-speed video game Grand Theft Auto, says he has chosen not to press charges against the driver who terrorized motorists on Interstate 40 and Interstate 26 Monday night.</p><p>Chris Rivers had just merged onto I-40 after an excursion on the Blue Ridge Parkway Monday evening when he noticed the expressway traffic was moving rather slowly.</p><p>Up ahead, he saw a white Ford Taurus traveling about 15-20 mph, he said. It was swerving back and forth and its horn was blaring. The driver was "blocking traffic from getting by," he said.</p><p>The driver of the white Taurus was later identified as Tiffany Williams Hill, a 27-year-old wife and mother of two from Henderson County.</p><p>Rivers called 911. One vehicle slipped past the Taurus, and then Rivers made a break for it.</p><p>"I finally got past her," Rivers said. "She just had this blank stare on her face."</p><p>Rivers said he went about a quarter of a mile and pulled off on the right side of the interstate to give dispatchers an explanation of what was going on. Seconds later, he looked in his rearview mirror and noticed the Taurus had picked up speed, straightened out and was racing straight for him.</p><p>"I saw her speed up and she's coming straight towards me. She's traveling about 50-60 mph or who knows what... I'm thinking if she hits me, she's going to destroy me," Rivers said. "I'm sitting there and all of a sudden she just bounces off the side of my car."</p><p>He said Hill lost a side mirror and damaged the side of her car on the impact, but it didn't stop her. "She just hit the car, bounced off and kept going," he said. "From there I just started chasing her, and I was on with dispatch the whole time."</p><p>Rivers followed Hill from I-40 to I-26 East, toward Hendersonville, failing to catch her as the speedometer in his car danced past 80 mph. On I-26, a dangerous game of bumper cars ensued.</p><p>"She went out of her way to hit everybody that she came into contact with," Rivers said, adding that cars were rear-ended, T-boned, side-swiped, hit head-on and pinned in moves that reminded him of PIT maneuvers he'd seen in Grand Theft Auto.</p><p>A speeds that eclipsed 80 mph, Rivers said he saw Hill ram into vehicles — some of them twice — spin out a few times and keep going. When Hill hit a van and slammed into a guardrail, Rivers said he saw a chance to stop her.</p><p>"I was going to come up and pin her in so she wouldn't move any more," he said, but dispatchers urged Rivers not to put himself in harm's way, and Rivers was driving a rented car. "I figured she would ram the front end of the car and I didn't want there to be any more damage to it."</p><p>He stopped and watched Hill reverse and take off again, he said, ramming a few more vehicles and spinning out a few more times before she crashed into a guardrail near the Arden exit, exit 40, in a final collision that immobilized her vehicle.</p><p>Over a course of about 15-16 miles, Rivers estimated Hill hit more than 10 vehicles and said that as of Wednesday, eight drivers had reported damages.</p><p>Rivers said troopers were forced to smash the window in to extricate Hill from the vehicle.</p><p>"She was telling the troopers she couldn't remember doing anything," he said.</p><p>Officers advised Rivers that he could file charges against Hill for assault with a deadly weapon, but he has decided against it.</p><p>"I hope she gets the help she needs," he said. "The decision has weighed on my heart to have mercy on her."</p><p>Looking back, Rivers said the what-ifs have made him more cautious on the road and more grateful than ever to be alive.</p><p>"After everything was said and done, I started thinking about it," he said. "It could have turned out to be quite disastrous. She could've killed me."</p><p>If Hill's high-speed collision course for his stopped car had not been slightly altered, Rivers said, he may not have survived to tell the story.</p><p>"People drive crazy and they think they're invincible. You don't realize that at any moment in time, something could happen and that's it," he said. "I try to live each day to its fullest and be grateful for it because you don't know. Tomorrow is never promised."</p><p>Hill was charged with driving while impaired, failing to maintain lane control, hit and run/failure to stop for property damage and reckless driving to endanger. According to the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office website, Hill is still being held in the Buncombe County Detention Center in lieu of $15,000 secured bond.</p><p>Reach Weaver at Emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>